Draft-rigging for railway-cars



No.752,315. v v I v PATENTED FEB.16,1 904. W. T. VAN BORN.

DRAPT RIGGING PUB RAILWAY CARS.

nrmouxou FILED 001'. 1. 1903.

no noun.

V G r I a r-" a a iy UNITED STATES uuLLIAM T. van BMW,

7 Patented February 16, 1904. PATENT OFFI E.

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DRAFT-RIGGING FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 752,315, dated. February 16, 1904.

Application filed 0170136 1, 1903.

To all whom it may concern: 7 p v Be it known that 1, WILLIAM T. VAN Donn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county'of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft-Rigging for Railway-Cars; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part i of this specification.

This invention is an improvement on my prior invention set forth in United States Pat- I ent No. 606,105, issued to me June21, 1898,and relates to draft-rigging for railway-cars, and more particularly to a draft-rigging adapted for use on cars in which a motor, such as an electric motor, is provided at the front end of the car in advance of the bolster, thereby rendering it diflicult to connect the draft-rigging with the bolster without risking injury to the motor. 1

The invention has for its object a construction adapted to afford a maximum lateral swing of the draw-head and draft-rigging,

which are held rigidly in alinement laterally with each other, and at the same time afford as much vertical play or swing as possible for the draw-head, thereby obviating the stresses brought to bear upon such constructions both in rounding curves and in moving over uneven and improperly-ballasted tracks.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described, and more fully pointed out and defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation, partly broken, of a device embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudi= nal section showing the draft-iron in side ele-; vation. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the same with the draw-head omitted and showing the draft-iron in plan view. Fig. 4 is a casing. I

' As shown in said drawings, G indicates an extension-bar or tail-strap, of steel or other suitable material, provided. with an aperture at its rear end adapted to receive a king-bolt or the like passed through the bolster of the vertical section .taken in advance of the pivot- 1 'paratively lightweight.

Serial No. 176,260. I (No model.)

car or through any bearing adapted for engagement with the rear end of said extensionbar. Said extension-bar, as shown, is broad, but comparatively thin, and extends forwardly to near the front end of the car and is supin form and provided with relativelybroad inwardly and outwardly extending end flanges a a, respectively, which afford a broad, ap-

approximately flat, and convexly-curved bearing-face at the front and rear ends of said. casing. Said casing is provided at its top with upwardly-extending integral webs a, integral at'the ends with said outwardly-extending end flanges a and integrally connected therewith at the top of said webs, and at the ends are provided a rearwardly and a forwardly .directed flange a a and laterally-directed flanges o extending above the same, between which is afforded a relatively broad seat-adapted to receive the extension-bar G, which fits closely thereon and to which said casing is riveted through said flanges, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4. Said casing A is cored out to provide relatively large external dimensions with corn- VVithin the casing are the central transverse pivot-ribs a a, as shown, integral with the bottom and the top, respectively, of the casing, which are rounded on their adjacent faces, as shown in Fig. 2, and disposed opposite each other and afiord a pivable material, which extends longitudinally through said casing and against the sides of which the inwardly-directed flanges a a fit iclosely. Said flanges are of a less width, how- 5 ever, above and below said, draft-iron and a relatively broad open space between the same,

and the top and bottom of the draft-iron is provided thereby, permitting said draft iron to swing vertically with said ribs a as a pivot. Sald draft-iron, as shown, 1s rectangular in cross-section and at its front end extends into the tail of the draw-head E and is rigidly secured thereto by means of bolts 6 passing through and through the same. At the rear end said draft-iron is reduced to cylindric form and threaded to receive a nut c, which is locked in position thereon by means of a cotter-pin or the like secured in an aperture passing through the end of said draft-iron outside the nut. Bearing against said nut 0 and against the rear end of said casing are the inwardly-facing collars or washers ff, each of which fits closely on the draft-iron and are provided on their adjacent faces in close proximity with the draft-iron with integral flanges f f which engage in the opposite ends of a strong spiral spring F, secured on the draftiron between the same and which forces the I collar or washer f, which is concave on its end of the casing.

face, into positive bearing against the rear In a similar manner collars or washers f f are provided in advance of said casing, of which the washer f, which is also concave on its face, bears against the front end thereof and the washer f 5 against I the tail of the draw-bars (shown in Figs. 1, 2,

and 3) and each of which is provided with an inwardly-directed flange f f on their adjacent faces similar to those already described on the washers ff and which engage in the.

ends of the strong spiral spring F, which afford a resilient bearing between the rear end of the draw-bar tail and said casing and acts to receive bufling stress in coupling, while the spring F receives the stress due to pulling.

A carrying-iron of the usual form, (indicated by g,) which extends transversely of the car and is secured at its ends thereon, is provided beneath the stem of the draw-bar in the usual manner, and, together with the carrying-iron g and the pivotal connection at the rear end of the extension-bar, serves to support said draft-rigging and draw-head below the car, while permitting the utmost freedom of movement laterally of the car on curves or the like, the outer end of said extension-bar and the draw-head sliding on said carrying-irons and maintaining mutual alinement laterally under all conditions.

The operation is as follows: In the construction described the extension-bar is adapted to extend in close proximity with the center sills over any motor that may be used to propel the car and to be pivoted at its rear end either on the king-bolt or in advance thereof to any suitable connection to afford freedom of lateral swing, and the front end of said extension-bar being carried on the carrying-iron 9 any desired amplitude of lateral swing can be secured without aflecting the support of said extension-bar on its rear end pivot and upon said carrying-iron g, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The draft-iron fits closely in the said casing laterally, providing a rigid construction under lateral stress, in

which the-parts maintain their normal alinement for the entire length of the device.

Inasmuch as the road-beds are frequently uneven and rough, it is common for cars of the' class described while running at a high rate of speed to oscillate or'rock longitudinally. It is therefore important to provide a joint between the extension-bar and draft-iron adapted to permit as much freedom of vertical movement as possible in the draw-head when coupled cars are in motion. This is accomplished by providing considerable space between the flanges a of the casing above and below the draft-iron and said draft-iron at.

each end of the casing, While the upper and lower pivot-ridges (4 at the centers of the casing, engage above and below said draftiron, affording a pivot-bearing therefor, so that as the car in motion rocks longitudinally said draft-iron and draw-head oscillate freely up and down in said casing, the concave collars or washers f and f sliding on the convex ends of the casing and affording at all times a positive bearing for the spring against the same. Obviously the internal pivot-bearing for the draft-iron may be differently constructed than herein described, and other details of construction may be varied without departing from the principles of this invention.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with an extension-bar adapted to be pivoted in close proximity with the center sills of a car or the like, of a casing rigidly secured thereto, a draft-iron extending through said casing and fitting closely therein laterally and pivoted centrally therein to oscillate vertically with respect thereto, washers carried on said draft-iron and fitting against the ends of the casing and strong. coiled springs carried on the draft-iron and bearing against said washers and a rigid part on the draft-iron.

- 2. The combination with an extension-bar adapted to be pivoted above the motor or the like of a car, of a buffer-sleeve rigidly secured thereon below the same and having a longitudinal central aperture therethrough, a draftiron rectangular in cross-section fitting closely in said aperture laterally and held by said casing in rigid alinement with the extension-bar under lateral stress and a central rounded rib extending transversely within the casing and on which said draft-iron pivots for vertical movement and springs bearing against a rigid part on said draft-iron and against the ends of the casing and acting to receive bufling and pulling stress.

8. The combination with an extension-bar adapted to be pivoted at its rear end below the center sills of the car or the like, of a carrying-iron adapted to support the outer end of said extension-bar and permit lateral swing thereof, a buffer-sleeve extending longitudinally of and below said extension-bar'and rigidly secured thereto by riveting or the like, and having a rectangular central aperture extending longitudinally therethrough, a central pivot-bearing in said sleeve a draftiron fitting closely in said casing and pivoted for vertical movement therein on said pivotbearing, springs bearing against a fixed part on said draft-iron and the ends of the sleeve and adapted to absorb pulling and bufiing stress and antifriction-washers between the ends of the sleeve and the springs and slidable on the ends of the sleeve.

4. As an article of manufacture a bufier-= sleeve for the purpose specified comprising a metal casing shaped at its top for attachment with a car or the like and having an aperture extending longitudinally therethrough adapted to receive a draft-iron therein, and adapted to fit closely to the draft-iron laterally and central transverse pivot-bearings having convex adjacent faces adapted to engage said draft-iron between the same and afford a pivotbearing therefor admitting of vertical movement only with respect thereto.

5. The combination with an extension-bar or tail-strap and a draft-iron, of a buffer-sleeve rigidly secured at the outer end of the extension-bar by riveting or the like and through which said draft-iron extends and which acts to hold said draft-iron and extension-bar substantially in alinement under lateral stress, a central transverse pivot-bearing within the buffer-sleeve adapted to engage above and below the extension-bar and admitting of free vertical movement of the ends of the draft-iron with respect to said extension-bar.

6. A buffer-sleeve for the purpose specified comprising a metal casing substantially cylindric and provided in its upper side with integral, upwardly and longitudinally extending flanges at the ends and sides thereof and affording a broad fiat seat to receive and rigidly'engage an extension-bar or the like, said sleeve having a longitudinal aperture extending therethrough having less lateral than vertical width, a central transverse rounded rib in the top and in the bottom of said sleeve and adapted to engage above and below a draft-iron and afford a pivot for vertical movement of the same in said sleeve, the ends of said sleeve being shaped for engagement with an antifriction-washer.

7. The combination with an extension-bar or tail-strap and a draft-iron, of a buffer-sleeve rigidly secured at the outer end of the extension-bar by riveting or the like and through which said draft-iron extends and which acts to hold said draft-iron and extension-bar sub. stantially in alinement under lateral stress, a central transverse pivot-bearing within the bufier-sleeve adapted to engage above and below the extension-bar and admitting of free vertical movement of the ends of the draftiron with respect to said extension-bar, fixed washers on the draft-iron, antifriction-washers slidably engaged against the ends of the sleeve, springs engaging between said washers and projections on said washers which engage in the ends of the springs.

8. The combination with a buffer-sleeve of the class described, of a central pivot-bearing therein, a draft-iron extending through said sleeve and pivoted on said bearing, verticallyconvex ends on said sleeve, a complementallyconcave washer bearing against the same and carried on the draft-iron and spring on said I draft-iron at each end the sleeve holding said washers in positive engagement against the sleeve. I

9. In a device .of the class described the combination with an extension-bar adapted to be pivoted to a car and a draft-iron, of an openended casing rigidly secured upon one of the same and through which the other extends and is pivoted therein, a central transverse pivotbearing in said casing, washers yieldingly engaged on said pivoted member and slidingly engaged on each end of said casing.

10. In a draft-rigging, an extension-bar and. 

